Meta

Psalm 25, 29 Nov 15

Image: Wikicommons

Psalm 25, an acrostic psalm in Hebrew, runs to 22 verses. The alphabetical arrangement is lost in our translations.

The psalmist seems to swing between two states, first soaring then penitential. Our selection is the first ten, more aspirational, verses. David then goes on to lament his failings and seek forgiveness in the second half.

And progressing to that very familiar and recurrent of prayers in the psalms:

Shew me thy ways, O Lord : and teach me thy paths. Lead me forth in thy truth, and learn me: for thou art the God of my salvation; in thee hath been my hope all the day long.(v.3, 4)

Music

Another Genevan psalm; genevanpsalter.org

Many early settings of this psalm may be found, including those by Boyce, Lassus, Goudimel (Genevan) and Blow. Composers of any era usually chose to use either first aspirational or second penitential section; an impressive total suggests that this psalm was of particular interest and widely loved.

Confining our attention to responsorials in modern sources, we again find several options:

Together in Song, from which we sang a (modified) setting of Psalm 93 last week, offers a composition by Christopher Willcock, whose work we find reliably beautiful. The verses are a little tricky for those who do not read music.

Everett in The emergent psalter uses verses 4 and 5 for the antiphon. The Carers’ Group used this one last February.

Psalms for all seasons gives us 25A, again using verse 1 as the refrain and verses to a tone; as well as a more formally arranged 25C.

South Woden has a home-grown refrain and verses based on a simple tune we used in recent years as the monthly ‘communion chant’, called into service as a vehicle to sing many different verses and psalms, in this case verses 3-4:

Post navigation

One thought on “Psalm 25, 29 Nov 15”

Which of these options shall we choose? Freedom! There’s no response printed in the worship sheet, so anything might happen! However, rest assured it will be short and sweet so you can remember and enjoy. I lean towards the Christopher Willcock with the bass, rather than guitar; and it would swing, too, but that might not be the best vibe. Participants, come early! ❤